Cup holder

ABSTRACT

A cup holder with adjustable storage volume and size. When shipping the cup holder, one can retract the cup holder to a smaller size to reduce the cost of packaging and transportation. The cup holder includes an upper cup frame having a cover, a lower cup frame including a cup distributor disposed at the inner surface of the lower cup frame, and a retractable cylindrical sleeve connecting the upper cup frame and the lower cup frame. The retractable cylindrical sleeve includes an undulating wall surface, which can be use to adjust the distance between the upper cup frame and the lower cup frame, thereby adjusting the volume and storage space of the cup holder.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a cup holder, and more particularly to a retractable cup holder that is retractable and that is capable of adjusting the volume and overall size of the cup holder for ease of carry, transportation and storage.

Conventional cup holder, as disclosed in published Taiwanese patent no. 102395 and 205685, is composed of a cylindrical sleeve having a cover disposed on the top portion of the cylindrical sleeve and a hollow bottom portion. A cup distributor is securely fastened at the hollow bottom portion, so as to hold a plurality of cups inside of the cylindrical sleeve and to supply only one cup at each time of access.

However, the conventional cup holder that is disclosed in the aforementioned patent publications has a cylindrical sleeve of a fixed height. Thus, the volume and size of the conventional cup can not be changed. Since a certain number of cups, usually 30 to 50 cups, are to be stored in the cup holder, the size of the cup holder is rather large. However, when packaging and shipping the cup holder, a lot of empty space is wasted due to its fixed size. Therefore, it is unlikely to reduce the cost of shipping and packaging of the conventional cup holders. The fixed size of the cup holder, of course, renders it inconvenient to carry. Furthermore, when the wall surface for installing the cup holder does not have enough empty space or when only a smaller cup holding capacity is required, the use of such a fix sized cup holder is then a waste of available space.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is aimed at solving the drawbacks of conventional cup holders that the size and the storage volume of the conventional cup holders are fixed due to the invariable length of the cylindrical sleeve. When packaging, shipping and storing the conventional cup holder, the cost of which is rather high.

It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a cup holder that includes a retractable cylindrical sleeve connecting with an upper cup frame and a lower cup frame to change or adjust the volume and storage space of the cup holder.

Accordingly, the cup holder includes an upper cup frame having a cover; a lower cup frame including a cup distributor disposed at the inner surface of the lower cup frame; and a retractable cylindrical sleeve connecting the upper cup frame and the lower cup frame. By changing the length of the retractable cylindrical sleeve, the size and the storage volume of the cup holder can be adjusted, which renders the cup holders easier to carry, and less costly for shipping and storage.

In one particular embodiment of the present invention, the retractable cylindrical sleeve includes an undulating side wall, so as to adjust the distance between the upper cup frame and the lower cup frame, and the size and storage volume of the cup holder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an explosive view of a cup holder in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the cup holder in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a sectional view of the cup holder in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the cup holder in use, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a sectional view of the cup holder in use, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a sectional view of the cup holder being retracted, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of the cup holder being retracted, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to better understanding the features and technical contents of the present invention, the present invention is hereinafter described in detail by incorporating with the accompanying drawings. However, the accompanying drawings are only for the convenience of illustration and description, no limitation is intended thereto.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, various views of a cup holder of the present invention are illustrated. The cup holder includes an upper cup frame 1, a lower cup frame 2 and a cylindrical sleeve 3 connecting both the upper cup frame 1 and the lower cup frame for containing cups therein.

The upper cup frame 1 includes a frame body 11 having a hollow top portion and a hollow bottom portion. The frame body 11 can be of a circular shape, a rectangular shape, a polygonal shape, or any other geometrical shapes. In this particular embodiment, the frame body 11 is of a circular shape. The hollow upper portion of the frame body 11 provides cups 4 to be placed therein, as shown in FIG. 4, and is covered with an upper cover 10 for preventing dusts or any objects from falling onto the cups 4. The hollow lower portion of the frame body 11 provides one end of the cylindrical sleeve 3 to be connected thereon. An installation element is disposed at the outer surface of the upper cup frame 1. In this particular embodiment, the installation element 13 is a hook.

The lower cup frame 2 includes a frame body 21 having a hollow top portion and a hollow bottom portion. The frame body 21 can be of a circular shape, a rectangular shape, a polygonal shape, or any other geometrical shapes. In this particular embodiment, the frame body 11 is of a circular shape. The hollow upper portion of the frame body 21 provides the other end of the cylindrical sleeve 3 to be connected thereon, while the hollow lower portion provides the bottom portion of the cups 4 to expose outside of the cup holder, so that the cups can be taking out. The aforementioned lower cup frame 2 includes a cup distributor 23 disposed at the inner surface of the cup holder 2. The cup distributor 21 is composed of a plurality of inwardly inclined elastic foils 24, gripping the protrusive top rim of the cups 4 for holding the cups 4 inside of the cylindrical sleeve 3 without falling outside. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the cup distributor 23 provides a user to take one cup 4 at each access.

The cylindrical sleeve 3 connecting the upper cup frame 1 and the lower cup frame 2 is composed of a long tube 30 having an upper opening and a lower opening. The shapes of the upper and lower openings of the long tube 30 correspond the frame body 11 of the upper cup frame 1 and the frame body 21 of the lower cup frame 2, respectively. The hollow space of the long tube 30 is provided for storing a plurality of cups 4 therein, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. The tube wall of the long tube 30 is in a undulating shape. The long tube 30 thus becomes retractable, namely, it can be stretched (shown in FIG. 2) and retracted (shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7) as desired, thereby changing the storage volume of cups of the cylindrical sleeve 4. The two openings of the long tube 30 include an upper connection end 31. The outer radius of the upper connection end 31 corresponds the inner radius of the lower hollow portion of the upper cup frame 1, so as to assembly them together. By using a fastening element such as a rivet or a screw, the frame body 11 and the long tube 30 are securely combined. Similarly, the outer radius of the lower connection end 31 corresponds the inner radius of the upper hollow portion 22 of the lower cup frame 2, so as to assembly them together. By using a fastening element, the frame body 21 and the long tube 30 are securely combined, as shown in FIG. 3.

According to the disclosed structure of the cup holder of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the cup holder is stretched and installed onto a wall surface by employing the fastening element 13 at the outer surface of the upper cup frame 1. The cup holder provides a plurality of cups 4 to be stored in the hollow space of the cylindrical sleeve 3, while the cup distributor 23 of the lower cup frame 2 grips the cups 4 to prevent the cups 4 from falling down, as shown in FIG. 5. When carrying, transporting or storing the cup holder, one can retract the cylindrical sleeve so as to reduce the overall size of the cup holder to smaller than one-half of its original size, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. In this manner, the cost for packaging and shipping the cup holders of the present invention is largely reduced. Furthermore, the cup holder of the present invention is easier to carry. One can easily stretch the retracted cylindrical sleeve 3 to obtain a cup holder having the same or larger storage volume than the conventional cup holders. Moreover, one can adjust the length of the cylindrical sleeve 3 for satisfying each particular occasion. The use of the cup holder of the present invention does not require completely stretching out the cylindrical sleeve.

Since, any person having ordinary skill in the art may readily find various equivalent alterations or modifications in light of the features as disclosed above, it is appreciated that the scope of the present invention is defined in the following claims. Therefore, all such equivalent alterations or modifications without departing from the subject matter as set forth in the following claims is considered within the spirit and scope of the present invention. 

1. A cup holder, comprising: an upper cup frame having a cover; a lower cup frame including a cup distributor disposed at the inner surface thereof; and a retractable cylindrical sleeve having extendable and compressible undulant well connecting the upper cup frame and the lower cup frame for storing therein at least a cup when the reactable cylindrical sleeve is expanded.
 2. The cup holder as recited in claim 1, wherein the upper cup frame comprises a frame body having an upper hollow end and a lower hollow end, the upper hollow end being covered by the cover, and the lower hollow end providing one end of the cylindrical sleeve to be connected thereon.
 3. The cup holder as recited in claim 2, wherein the upper cup frame has a circular shape, a rectangular shape or a polygonal shape.
 4. The cup holder as recited in claim 2, wherein a fastening element is disposed on the outer surface of the upper cup frame for installing the cup holder onto a wall.
 5. The cup holder as recited in claim 4, wherein the fastening element is a hook.
 6. The cup holder as recited in claim 1, wherein the lower cup frame comprises a frame body having an upper hollow end and an lower hollow end, the upper hollow end being connected to one end of the cylindrical sleeve, the frame body further comprising a cup distributor disposed on the inner surface of the frame body for gripping and holding the top portion of the cup.
 7. The cup holder as recited in claim 6, wherein the cup distributor comprises a plurality of inwardly inclined elastic foils.
 8. The cup holder as recited in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical sleeve comprises a long tube having an upper opening and a lower opening, the upper opening and the lower opening being formed to correspond the shapes of the upper cup frame and the lower cup frame, respectively.
 9. The cup holder as recited in claim 1, wherein the cylindrical sleeve comprises a long tube having an upper opening and a lower opening, the long tube having a undulating tube wall, thereby rendering the long tube being retractable and capable of changing cup holder size and storage volume.
 10. The cup holder as recited in claim 9, wherein the long tube comprises an upper connection end and a lower connection end, an outer radius of the upper connection end being equal to an inner radius of the upper cup frame, while an outer radius of the lower connection end being equal to an inner radius of the lower cup frame, so as to securely assembling the upper cup frame and the lower cup frame with the long tube using a fastening element. 